House Passes Rules For Movers

State Senate Has Yet To Consider Similar Regulations

April 27, 1995|By ANGELA BRADBERY Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE - — In a showdown characterized as a fight between the moving industry and the little guy, the little guy won another round on Wednesday.

The House voted 67-44 to approve a measure designed to protect consumers from unscrupulous movers - despite predictions that small moving companies would be driven out of business by burdensome new rules.

"People are being ripped off all over the state of Florida," said Rep. Jack Tobin, D-Margate, as he urged fellow House members to vote for the proposal. "We're here to represent the people of the state of Florida. We're not here to represent the industry."

Despite Wednesday's vote, however, the battle isn't over. The Senate is considering a weaker plan, and even it might not pass.

The House measure requires intrastate movers to register with the state and to provide customers with written contracts and estimates. The final cost of the move could not increase more than 25 percent from the written estimate.

The moving industry vehemently opposes the measure, saying it is unnecessary because the state can currently investigate complaints and prosecute dishonest movers.

The Florida Movers and Warehousemen's Association also argued that problems are isolated to South Florida, where county governments have already passed local laws to deal with dishonest movers.

The Senate measure, unveiled this week, is a "slimmed down" version of the original, according to its sponsor, Sen. Howard Forman, D-Pembroke Pines.

Forman cut out the requirement that moving companies register. He did so to appease critics who don't want to impose more rules and regulations this year, and thereby keep the measure alive, he said.

That anti-regulatory sentiment was evident on Wednesday in the House, where opponents said the measure was unnecessary.

Supporters disagreed. Horror stories abound statewide of dishonest movers holding furniture hostage in exchange for a payment several times the written estimates, they said.